Microsoft believes the future is in cloud computing

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said today that Microsoft is “re-imagining” every part of its software empire to run on the cloud. He also made the remarks in Los Angeles at a developers’ conference.

He said that the future is in cloud computing where software and data storage are moved to remote servers operating behind corporate firewalls or on public networks owned by companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com. The heavy processing will be centralized and handled on the cloud so the user’s hardware is just functioning as a user interface only.

He mentioned that sales of smartphones and tablets are starting to affect those of conventional computers, most of which run Microsoft’s operating system. It means that cloud computing will affect the sales of windows desktop operating system also.

He also told the audience at the preview of Windows 8 that Microsoft’s computer operating system was being recast as a “powerful cloud” operating system capable of delivering Microsoft software so any device from a desktop computer to a phone can accomodate.

The client becomes mobile and the server becomes the cloud. That’s why the windows 8 will have a different approach of user interface. Mr Ballmer said that Windows 8 “doubles down” on features of the Windows Phone 7. This is the reason, I guess, why Microsoft made a deal with Nokia making Windows Phone its primary smartphone operating system. Its first Windows Phone products are expected to come to the market in the fourth quarter. He said “there is nothing on the planet that will ship 350 million of anything other than Windows”.